SCRIPTURE ANNOUNCEMENT

Please turn with me in your Bible’s to Philippians 1:1—11.

SCRIPTURE INTRODUCTION

Paul first visited the city of Philippi on his second missionary journey, after having been led there by the Holy Spirit through a vision of a Macedonian man calling for help.

While there, God worked powerfully as Paul preached the gospel.

A woman named Lydia became a believer

A young servant girl had a demon cast out of her

Which got Paul and Silas thrown in prison; where,

A jailer and his entire household became believers.

During the time Paul was there a church began, which likely met in Lydia’s home.

Scripture records 2 other visits that Paul made to the Philippians during his 3rd missionary journey.

A few years after his third visit to Philippi, Paul was imprisoned for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ and eventually sent to Rome.

The Philippian church ministered to Paul’s needs by sending him a financial gift.

They also sent Paul a man to be of help to him… Epaphroditus.

While with Paul, Epaphroditus got so sick he almost died, but God spared him.

The Philippians were so concerned for Epahroditus their brother, that Paul decided to send him back.

This book of Philippians is the letter that Paul sent back with Epaphroditus to the church in Philippi.

SCRIPTURE READING

Philippians 1:1–11 ESV

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Lord, we thank You for Your faithfulness to Your servant Paul.

You faithfully led Him by Your Spirit to the places You wanted Him to go.

We thank You for his example of humble obedience.

We recognize that the fruit that came as a result of his obedience is from Your Spirit’s work in the hearts of the Philippians as they heard the gospel, so we praise You!

We humbly come to this letter to the Philippian church this morning, recognizing that it was written by Paul, and yet divinely inspiried by the Holy Spirit, so that the Words are Your own.

Those words were meant to encourage and instruct the Philippians, and they have been included in our Bible’s so that we can be encouraged and instructed by them as well.

We praise You for Your Word, and we ask that You would fill us with Your Spirit, to lead and guide us so that we might hear,

and in hearing we might understand,

and in understanding that we would obey,

and so experience the joy and blessing You offer those who trust You.

We ask these things not because we deserve them, but because it is Your joy to give the good gift of Your Spirit to Your children who ask… Amen.

INTRODUCTION

The first time I heard the name, Marie Kondo, was from my wife a few years ago while we lived in Kentucky.

Marie Kondo is a well-known Japanese organizing consultant.

She has written 4 books, which have sold millions of copies, and have been published in more than 30 countries.

Marie Kondo gained popularity in the US & Canada through her 2019 Netflix series called, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.”

In each episode, Kondo visits a different American family household in need of organizing and de-cluttering.

Each family has individual backgrounds and needs, which the show addresses with both hands-on guidance from Kondo.

I have not watched a lot of the show myself, but my wife Jessica did.

And I began to notice things:

my underwear were folded differently,

baskets began to appear in closets with items neatly organized inside.

Something else began to happen… things began disappearing!

This is because a very important part of organizing is decluttering… getting rid of things you don’t use or need.

As we all know, it is hard at times for us to part with things that have been with us for a long time.

To help her clients decide whether or not to keep something, Marie Kondo uses her now famous question, “Spark Joy?”.

She encourages them to hold the item in their hands, look at it and feel it, and pay attention to your body’s response.

Does it “Spark joy?”

Does your body have a heightened response to the item… OR

Does your body feel weighed down in response to the item.

If the item “Sparks Joy” then it is worth keeping.

Marie Kondo says,

“My mission is to spark joy in the world through tidying.”

Now, I know my wife does get joy through tidying…

The problem with this sort of joy though, is that it is dependant on things being tidy.

The moment something is not tidy, then the joy is gone.

This is why we struggle to have true joy, because we are looking to the wrong sources.

These things actually end up stealing our joy.

Thieves that rob us of our joy (Warren Wiersbe):

Circumstances

Things that happen to us outside our control.

People

Things people say, and do.

Things

We think joy comes from stuff, but it robs us of true joy.

Worry

These thieves rob us of the joy that we could have.

Yet if we look at each of these thieves, Paul should have been the most miserable man on earth.

And yet the most common theme that runs throughout the book is that of joy.

He mentions it at least 19 times throughout this short letter.

One of the greatest things we learn from Paul in this letter to the Philippians is the secret to Christian joy…

joy that goes beyond circumstances, people, things, and worry.

One of the sources of that joy for Paul was the fellowship of those who are in Christ.

This morning we are going to see that…

Christian Fellowship Sparks Joy

Paul and the Philippian church had such a deep, intimate fellowship in Christ,

that it sparked joy for him, even as he wrote from prison.

How was their fellowship a spark of joy for Paul?

Christian Fellowship Sparks Joy through Partnership

Paul has joy through the partnership they shared.

We remember that God gave him success in planting a church in Philippi.

That church was the first church to support him in his mission of spreading the gospel.

AND they continued to minister to his needs in prison.

Financial gift & Epaphroditus

In verses 3—6 we see Paul give the reasons that this partnership gave him joy…

Joy comes from God’s provision (v. 3—4)

Philippians 1:3–4 ESV

3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,

Paul recognizes first and foremost that God is the One who deserves the praise for this partnership.

God is the one who bore the fruit that came from Paul’s ministry, so God is the one who deserves thanks.

So Paul has joy as he thanks God for the Christian brothers and sisters that are supporting him.

We also see that Paul’s…

Joy comes from God’s gospel (v. 5)

Philippians 1:5 ESV

5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

The joy that Paul had came as a result of the fact that they were connected through the gospel.

Paul and the Philippians shared together in that they were saved from sin and death.

The Philippians felt so thankful to Paul that they began supporting him, and were continuing to do so.

This brought Paul great joy.

This partnership brought with it a great promise…

Joy comes from God’s promise (v. 6)

Philippians 1:6 ESV

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Paul had joy in the work that God had done in transforming the hearts of the Philippians,

and that joy was mulitiplied because he had confidence in the fact that God was going to complete that work.

The Philippians were going to stand before Christ holy and blameless…

Not because of anything they could do, but because God of what God was going to do.

ILLUSTRATION

My sister and her husband just celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary.

My brother in law had asked me to stand as a groomsmen in their wedding, which I was honoured to do.

As a gift to us groomsmen, he bought us tickets to watch a Detroit Tigers game in a box office suite.

I remember the excitement us guys shared as we looked forward to the game.

You could watch the game from inside the air conditioned suite, or sit outside on the balcony.

All you can eat:

nachos

popcorn

hot dogs

chicken

pop

It was an awesome experience!

But what made it special was sharing the experience together as friends.

If I had all of those privileges and blessings to myself, what fun would that be?

APPLICATION

We have incredible hope and promises in Christ through His sacrifice on our behalf…

and God increases our joy in that we have fellow Christians to share it with!

Too often we find ourselves focusing on the areas where we disagree, rather than expressing gratitude that we are partners in the most amazing blessings!

Like Paul, we should give glory and thanks to God for fellow Christians that we are united with.

We have other partnerships in life…

family,

friends we hang out with,

coworkers

Some of these relationships are not deeply rooted in Christ.

We aren’t REALLY connected at a deep level.

But true Christian relationships go deep…

share struggles…

pray for one another and support one another…

It is these partnerships that spark joy in our lives.

TRANSITION

Another reason for Paul’s joy is that…

Christian Fellowship Sparks Joy through Circumstances

We remember that Paul was in prison for the sake of the gospel at the time he wrote this letter to the Philippians.

How was he able to have such joy in the midst of the difficult circumstances surround that difficult season of his life?

It was through the fellowship of his brothers and sisters in Christ who were partners with him in the gospel.

Through the fellowship we have in Christ…

Joy comes from meeting one another’s needs. (v. 7)

Philippians 1:7 ESV

7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

What did the Philippians do when they found out that Paul was imprisoned?

They sent him a financial gift to help provide for his needs.

They also sent him Epaphroditus, to be of help to him.

Paul was going to need to defend himself since his trial was coming up, and the money that the Philippians sent, as well as Epaphroditus would be a big help to him in preparing for that.

This causes Paul to have immense joy… so much so that he says he “holds them in his heart.”

The Philippians would have been excited to support Paul, since it was through him that the gospel was brought to them in the first place.

So joy results on both ends:

As the Philippians feel honoured to minister Paul…

and Paul feels honoured that they would help him.

The deep joy that comes from their partnership creates in them a longing to be together.

This shows us that…

Joy comes from being together. (v. 8)

Philippians 1:8 ESV

8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Thankfully there was a way for the Philippians to meet Paul’s needs,

and there was a way for them to stay in touch through letters,

but this ultimately created a desire for them to be together in person.

Communication for them was by letter, so you couldn’t get an immediate response.

You would have had to wait a while to hear back, and you can only say or ask so many things.

That, and there is no personal connection through letter.

They longed to be together so that they could:

See each other’s facial expressions

Hear each other’s voices

Hug/handshake

It gave Paul joy to think about being together with brothers and sisters in Christ that were so dear to him.

That joy enabled him to be able to endure his difficult circumstances.

If he were isolated, and left alone, he would have been more prone to discouragement and despair.

But he had partners who were there for him in his deepest time of need.

ILLUSTRATION

We live in a day and age where we have countless ways to stay connected.

Text

Email

Social media

Facetime

and many others.

Yet there have been surveys that suggest that 60% of people feel lonely on a regular basis.

Loneliness has become so widespread that in May of this year, the US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a national advisory.

Surgeon General's Advisories are public statements that call the American people's attention to a critical public health issue and provide recommendations for how it should be addressed.

The title of this particular advisory was,

“Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation”

They performed a study that found loneliness and isolation have profound negative effects on our physical well-being.

US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy says:

“Research shows that loneliness and isolation are associated with a greater risk of heart disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death. In fact, lacking connection can increase the risk of premature death to levels comparable to smoking daily.” — US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy

Paul was isolated from his brothers and sisters in Christ, though not willingly.

And even though he was lonely because he missed them,

we know that his heart was full because of the partners he had supporting him!

APPLICATION

We have all had moments or maybe seasons of life where we have felt loneliness.

Though we are the most “connected” society to ever exist, we may be the most lonely.

We have reasons to isolate ourselves:

Our lives are too busy…

It takes effort and energy, and sometimes after a long day it’s easier to stay home…

I have projects on the go at home that need to get done…

Besides… there are series on Netflix that need to be watched!

None of those things are bad or wrong in and of themselves,

But what we must realize is that we are missing out on joy that God has for us through Christian fellowship.

That latest season of Netflix isn’t going to carry you through a difficult season of life…

Finishing that project isn’t going to bring the joy you think it will…

BUT:

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

who are committed to God and His will, and

are partnering with us to accomplish His purposes

will be there for us!

This will give us joy through whatever circumstances may come in this life.

Dr. Murthy went on to offer some keys for connection that I think are very fitting suggestions for the church to be encouraged by:

Answer a phone call from a friend

Invite someone over to share a meal

Listen and be present during conversation

Seek out opportunities to serve others

As we meet one another’s needs, and enjoy Christian fellowship, we will experience joy.

TRANSITION

How else was Paul able to experience joy while in prison?

Christian Fellowship Sparks Joy through Selflessness

Paul could have written this letter with a focus on himself:

How he has been mistreated…

How unfair it was that he got thrown in prison…

His terrible circumstances in prison…

He could have written to the Philippians all about his trial, and unjust it was, and what they could do to help him win his appeal in court.

BUT, it would have been very difficult for him to have joy focusing on himself.

Instead, it would have been a lot easier for him to complain.

So how does Paul maintain his joy?

Through selflessness!

His focus is on others.

Paul goes on to share how he his praying for the Philippians.

Through Paul’s prayer we see that…

Joy comes from seeing others grow in love. (v. 9)

Philippians 1:9 ESV

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,

Paul has seen their love in action during the times that he has visited them…

AND he has experienced their love first hand.

They have been supporting him throughout his ministry,

and they have just shown their love by sending a financial gift as well as Epaphroditus.

It is this love that Paul is praying will “abound more and more.”

But Paul’s desire is that their love will abound, “with knowledge and all discernment.”

Christian love is not blind. It takes knowledge and discernment for us to know how best to love others.

Our culture believes that it is loving to affirm other people in whatever makes them feel good.

Paul knew that love is empty… it is vain…

As humans we are sinful, sorry, and wrecked by the Fall, so we can’t trust our understanding of love.

The only way we can know true love is to learn it from God.

Paul wants them to grow in love, but it must be connected to their knowledge of God.

As the Philippians grow in the knowledge of God, and their love, they will grow in purity.

and this brings Paul joy.

Joy comes from seeing other grow in purity. (v. 10)

Philippians 1:10 ESV

10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

As their love grows in knowledge and discernment,

the result is that they will have the ability to know the difference between good and evil, right and wrong.

The word Paul uses here for “approve” has the meaning:

to test, examine, prove, scrutinise.

to recognise as genuine after examination.

Paul wants the Philippians to grow in their ability to test what is true, and hold on to what is good.

The result is that they will be “pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”

Paul is not talking about a works based salvation… he has already declared them as being “in Christ” in his intro.

But he is going to tell them later in the letter to “work out their salvation with fear and trembling”.

Because they were in Christ, they should have a desire to grow in wisdom and truth, that leads to obedience to God’s Word.

The idea is that there will be no accusation that could be brought against them.

ILLUSTRATION

Daniel is a wonderful example of this.

Israel is in exile because they have disobeyed God, but Daniel has been committed to faithfully following God’s Word, and God blesses him and causes him to rise in fame and power.

In Daniel chapter 6, Darius wants to promote Daniel to second in command over his whole kingdom.

Then we read in Daniel 6:4…

Daniel 6:4 ESV

4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.

Daniel was such a man of integrity, that there was no accusations they could find that would stick against him.

This is the idea that Paul is trying to convey to the Philippians.

He wanted them to know and obey God’s Word, so that there would be no accusations that could stick against them on the day of Christ.

Paul desired they would grow in purity, which brought him joy.

Through their knowledge and discernment of what was right, their obedience would lead to fruit.

Joy comes from seeing others grow fruit. (v. 11)

Philippians 1:11 ESV

11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

The only way to have fruit that comes from Christ is to know and obey His Word.

That is why Paul has been praying that they would grow in knowledge of it.

Then their lives will bring glory and honour to God.

What Paul understood is that Jesus blesses those who read and obey His Word in faith.

And it is this blessing that Paul desires for the Philippians.

The thought of them bearing even more fruit that would bring glory and praise to God brought Paul joy.

He already knew and experienced the fruit of their love, but wanted it to increase more and more.

Paul was in prison, and yet he was able to experience joy as he focused on others.

Had he simply focused on his own circumstances, he would have robbed himself of joy…

Being in prison, Paul now had a lot of time on his hands, and he chose to honour God with that time.

We would not have this letter to the Philippians had Paul not been selfless through seeking the growth of others.

APPLICATION

Are our lives filled with joy?

I confess that I can tend to have a complaining attitude.

At LEMC we have been going through a sermon series in Exodus, and the Israelites were prone to complain, despite all of the good things God had done for them.

Pastor Jake has mentioned in recent weeks that complaining is our default.

We instinctively complain about anything in life that we don’t like, or agree with.

Jake has been encouraging us to see the difficulties that God brings in our lives as opportunities to grow.

This is exactly what Paul did while in prison.

God had allowed him to be put in prison, and Paul used it as an opportunity to bring glory to God in a different way than he was used to.

The reason we are so prone to complain is because we are focusing on ourselves.

If we focus on the problem we’re having,

or the thing that we’re frustrated about,

or the thing that someone else did,

we are robbing ourself of experiencing joy.

In those moments we need to pray that God will help us to selflessly look to others.

To pray to God for others, that they would grow.

As we selflessly give ourselves for others, we will experience joy.

Christ is a wonderful example of this selfless love.

Hebrews 12:1–3 (ESV)

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

In his book ‘Gentle and Lowly’, Dane Ortlund, speaking about this verse, asks the question,

What joy? What was waiting for Jesus on the other side of the cross? The joy of seeing his people forgiven. It was the joyous anticipation of seeing his people made invincibly clean that sent him through his arrest, death, burial, and resurrection. — Dane Ortlund “Gentle & Lowly”

Christ is our example of giving our lives for the growth of others.

To be a part of others growing in their Christian walk sparks joy in our lives.

CONCLUSION

In July of 2019, my wife Jessica and I moved to Louisville KY to attend seminary.

We were starting over, and did not know a single person.

We were away from our family, friends, and church. It felt very lonely at times.

It was especially lonely as we were trying to find a home church.

We were used to making plans after church, but now we knew nobody, and we just went home after the service.

We are thankful that it drew our family closer together, but we knew something was missing…

We needed Christian fellowship.

Then God blessed us to find a wonderful church. The first Sunday we attended we were invited by several families to go out for lunch.

We got rooted in a small group in their church where we got connected and began to form relationships.

We also met 2 other seminary families during our time in KY that we grew close with, that are still very dear friends to us.

God blessed us with Christian fellowship through our church and friends, which gave us joy through the partnership we had in Christ.

When difficult circumstances came up, we still had joy through the amazing relationships we had, as we found ways to support, bless, and encourage one another.

Relationships come with their share of difficulties, especially close relationships,

but if we avoid Christian relationships to avoid those problems,

then we are robbing ourselves of the sustaining joy that could be ours.

God blesses us with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who partner with us in the gospel,

to remind us, and help us, to keep our eyes fixed on the heavenly prize that awaits us through Christ,

which gives us joy no matter what circumstances may come in this life.

Let’s pray.

Father, we thank You for the fellowship we have as partners in Your gospel.

You have called and saved each one who has put their faith and trust in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

Through Your Spirit, would you help us to remain unified in our commitment to the truth of Your Word.

Give us joy as we selflessly serve one another with Christian love,

as we are conformed into the image of Your precious Son, Jesus Christ,

who died in our place, so that we may have eternal life.

Amen.